Insights,

by Michael Kolodziej, MD, FACP

“Decoding Health Care” By ADVI Expert and Senior Advisor Dr. Michael Kolodziej

Explore this series by ADVI Expert and senior advisor Dr. Michael Kolodziej which aims to educate as many individuals as possible on a variety of topics to better understand health delivery and payment.

Part Twenty-Three

Dr. Kolodziej discusses the importance of second opinions in oncology and how they can often lead to improved outcomes. In part twenty-three of the Decoding Health Care Series, he explores the challenges many patients face such as offending doctors, cost, and inconvenience.

Part Twenty-Two

In part twenty-two of the Decoding Health Care Series, Dr. Kolodziej discusses how social determinants of health impact access and quality of care in the US, and the difficulties of providing care to those without insurance. He expands on modern interventions that are making an impact to improve these health outcomes.

Part Twenty-One

Part twenty-one of Dr. Kolodziej’s Decoding Health Care series explores venture capital and private equity in health care, emphasizing it not only as a way of growth in the industry but in our society as a whole.

Part Twenty

In part twenty of the Decoding Health Care Series, Dr. Kolodziej discusses the history of end-of-life care services, such as hospice. He expands on how enhancing the quality measures of hospice programs is essential, inputting his own experience and knowledge of end-of-life services.

Part Nineteen

In part nineteen (a) and part nineteen (b) of the Decoding Health Care Series, Dr. Kolodziej highlights the evolution of targeted therapies to cancer, focusing specifically on cell and gene therapy. He expands on the history of understanding the sickle cell disease and the experimental treatments that were conducted.

Part Eighteen

In part eighteen (a) and part eighteen (b), Dr. Kolodziej discusses how cancer screenings have become a more standard and frequent practice in health prevention, and how the evolution of these screenings for different forms of cancer aim to diagnose early cases of illness.

Part Seventeen

In part seventeen of the Decoding Health Care Series, Dr. Kolodziej highlights precision medicine, kicking off the discussion with the example of CML (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia). Throughout its several decades of being researched, it became a paradigm of cancer causation and treatment due to the individual toll it would take on each patient. This led to a much larger conversation about the future studies of cancer mutations and DNA sequences.

Part Sixteen

In part sixteen (a) and part sixteen (b), Dr. Kolodziej analyzes the development of technology in patient and provider settings. He discusses the vast underutilization of telemedicine in the past, and expands on how COVID-19 upended healthcare practices in America as we knew it, how we have learned to adapt to technology alternatives like telemedicine, and how we have incorporated technology into everyday tasks since.

Part Fifteen

In part fifteen, Dr. Kolodziej reflects on the ways that clinical research and clinical trials have attributed to advanced medical knowledge, playing a significant role in cancer drug trials, pharma funded trials, the FDA approval process, and more.

Part Fourteen

Part fourteen of the Decoding Health Series highlights the real world evidence needed to answer medical questions with the help of big data, clinical research, and technology developments in health care that reassure the accuracy and consistency of medical documentation.

Part Thirteen
In part thirteen of the Decoding Health Series, Dr. Michael Kolodziej discusses the importance of measuring quality in healthcare and the challenges associated with it, particularly in oncology and within the context of reimbursement models like MIPS.

Part Twelve

In this two-part series – part twelve (a) and part twelve (b) of the Decoding Health Series, Dr. Michael Kolodziej discusses the importance of evidence-based clinical decision-making in oncology and the role of organizations like the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) in providing clinical guidelines. He also dives into the implementation and impact of clinical pathways in oncology, focusing on efforts to standardize treatment options based on efficacy, toxicity, and cost, ultimately aiming to improve patient care, reduce costs, and address challenges in the rapidly evolving landscape of medical knowledge and practice.

Part Eleven

Part eleven of the Decoding Health Series focuses on the evolution of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model, initially developed for children with special healthcare needs, and its application to various medical specialties, including oncology. Dr. Kolodzieh discusses the model’s effectiveness and suggests modifications to improve sustainability and patient outcomes.

Part Ten

In part ten, Dr. Kolodziej traces the FDA’s historical evolution from its inception to its modern-day role, particularly focusing on pivotal moments during landmark drug approval processes and its challenges with surrogate endpoints. He emphasizes the importance of post-approval data submission, discusses the need for collaboration between the FDA and other agencies for outcomes-based contracts, and highlights areas for potential improvement in FDA regulation.

Part Nine

In part nine, Dr. Kolodziej reflects on his previous posts critiquing the pharmaceutical industry, the US healthcare shortcomings, Medicare, Medicaid, physician compensation, and more, ultimately expressing skepticism towards the Medicare for all proposal and transitioning focus towards discussions on healthcare delivery and reception.

Part Eight

In part eight, Dr. Kolodziej discusses the complexities of physician compensation in the US, highlighting the disparities in pay among different medical specialties and the influence of factors such as reimbursement systems, entrepreneurial opportunities, and drug pricing.

Part Seven

In this two-part series – part seven(a) and part seven(b), Dr. Kolodziej focuses on the pharmaceutical industry. He explores the roots of drug pricing, from the groundbreaking Hatch Waxman Act to the modern landscape shaped by generic drugs, middlemen complexities, and biologics, which reveals the intricate web influencing medication affordability, availability, and access.

Part Six

In this two-part series – part six(a) and part six(b), Dr. Kolodziej discusses the challenges and distrust surrounding health insurance companies. He traces their historical evolution while emphasizing the impact of benefit designs, premiums, and cost-sharing on individuals’ healthcare decisions.

Part Five

In part five, Dr. Kolodziej focuses on the history of hospitals and their role in increasing healthcare costs.

Part Four

In part four, Dr. Kolodziej discusses the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its impact on healthcare in the United States as well as the challenges and benefits of Medicaid.

Part Three

In part three, Dr. Kolodziej covers Medicare in its current formulation, breaking down its history and laying out the basics of Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D.

Part Two

In part two, Dr. Kolodziej outlines the background and history of employer-sponsored health insurance, detailing the challenges we face due to the current employer and payer landscape. 

Part One

In part one, Dr. Kolodziej shares his perspective in a broad overview of “How we pay for it and how we can improve it”.

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Stay ahead of the curve as you look toward 2024. Get in touch today to gain expert insights and strategic counsel on the evolving healthcare landscape.

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Michael Kolodziej, MD, FACP

Senior Advisor